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Taqi Bin Abdulredha Alabduwani
College Dean taki1966@omantel.net.om
We thank you for browsing through the Gulf
College website.
I
welcome you on behalf of the academic faculties,
administrative and technical
staff of Gulf College.
We started providing human resources development
programmes in 1991 and obtained the approval of
the Ministry of Higher Education, Sultanate of
Oman in 1996 for offering the Master’s degree in
Business Administration (MBA). We are the first
Omani private sector institution to provide a
Master’s degree programme in the Arabian Gulf
region.
In December 2003, Gulf College got the approval
from the Ministry of Higher Education to start
ten different Bachelor’s degree programmes with
honours through academic affiliation with
Staffordshire University of the United Kingdom.
Gulf College is an academic institution
specializing in higher education. It is located
in the Muscat Governorate and works under the
direct supervision of the Ministry of Higher
Education. The medium of instruction at the
College is in English.
The College provides higher education programmes
of high academic standards through
internationally reputed universities of United
Kingdom. The programmes are offered on both
full-time and part-time basis. Currently, the
College has academic affiliation with three U.K.
universities which are:
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Staffordshire University
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University of Hull
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University of Reading
Gulf College offers Bachelors degrees with
honours and Masters degrees in academic
affiliation with these three U.K. universities
through two different arrangements:
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Master’s degree programmes:
The Master’s degree programmes
are offered through International Outreach
arrangement. This system has a tremendous
advantage for the students as they get the
same rights and privileges which a
registered student gets at the University in
U.K. Teaching is carried out in the
Sultanate by the same academic faculty from
the affiliated Universities in U.K. The
faculty members come to Oman every 8 weeks
to conduct teaching for 30 hours on each
module or subject. They use the same
academic material, evaluation and quality
assurance process which are applied at the
University in U.K. The only difference
between a student studying at the University
in U.K. and a student studying in Oman is
the location.
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Bachelor’s degree programmes
with honours:
These programmes are offered at Gulf College
in Muscat through Franchise arrangement with
Staffordshire University of the United
Kingdom. This system is similar to that of
the International Outreach arrangement
except that the academic staff members are
appointed by the College after getting the
approval from the University and the
Ministry of Higher Education. The students
at Gulf College follow the same academic
approach for their studies as is being done
by the students at the University in U.K.
The modules or subjects for study, teaching
methodologies applied and the assessment
methods are the same at Gulf College as that
of Staffordshire University in the U.K.
The Bachelor’s degree certificate is awarded to
the students by Staffordshire University upon
completion of their studies and achieving the
academic requirements as set by the University.
Students at Gulf College get all the privileges
similar to that students get at the University
in U.K. and these include use of the University
facilities such as the electronic library.
Gulf College is subject to the same quality
assurance procedures as applied to the
Staffordshire University by the higher education
regulatory bodies of United Kingdom.
In order to achieve a Bachelor’s degree students
at Gulf College have to achieve the same
academic standards as that achieved by students
pursuing a Bachelor’s degree at the universities
in United Kingdom.
The appointment of examiners by Staffordshire
University to moderate the assessments at Gulf
College is one of the criterion for maintaining
high academic standards. The academic quality at
Gulf College assures the availability of
effective and appropriate teaching as well as
support, assessment and effective learning
opportunities.
Gulf College is subject to verifications by the
Staffordshire University, a process to check the
adherence of quality assurance procedures being
applied at the University. The verifications are
intended to enable the University to get
assurance that its academic standards have been
implemented.
External examiners from other universities
(other than the Staffordshire University) are
also appointed to oversee the adherence to
academic standards by Gulf College. The
appointment of external examiners assists the
universities and colleges to compare their
academic standards and get the assurance that
the assessment procedures are fair and
appropriate. The external examiners’ comments on
the students’ achievements are in accordance to
the set standards.
Gulf College is also subject to periodical
reviews by the Directorate General of Private
Universities and Colleges in the Ministry of
Higher Education in Sultanate of Oman, which
assures that the College is fulfilling all the
criterions and quality regulations applied in
Oman.
You are welcome to contact me or any other
member of our team at Gulf College for any
clarifications. I'm sure you will get the
support and service you deserve.
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